Biography: Woody Strode, a.k.a. Woodrow Strode (born July 28, 1914, Los Angeles, California; died December 31, 1994) was a decathlete and football star at UCLA before becoming a film actor. Featured in almost a dozen John Ford directed westerns, Strode's most notable roles included that of an Ethiopian king in "The Ten Commandments" (1956), an ill-fated gladiator who does battle with Kirk Douglas in "Spartacus" (1960), and a gunslinger in the opening sequence of "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968). He died of cancer on December 31, 1994.

Woody Strode's film and television work includes: The Quick and the Dead (1995); Posse (1993); Storyville (1992); A Gathering of Old Men (1987) (TV); Lust in the Dust (1985); The Cotton Club (1984); The Black Stallion Returns (1983); Vigilante (1983); Horror Safari (1982); Cuba Crossing (1980); Ravagers (1979); Kingdom of the Spiders (1977); How the West Was Won (1977) (TV mini series); Keoma (1976); The Quest: The Longest Drive (1976) (TV); Winterhawk (1975); Key West (1973) (TV); The Gatling Gun (1973); The Revengers (1972);The Last Rebel (1971); Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970); Che! (1969); Shalako (1968); Once Upon a Time in the West (1968); Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones (1967); The Professionals (1966); 7 Women (1966); Genghis Khan (1965); Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963); The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962); Two Rode Together (1961); The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961); Spartacus (1960); Sergeant Rutledge (1960); The Last Voyage (1960); Pork Chop Hill (1959); The Buccaneer (1958); Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958); The Ten Commandments (1956); Son of Sinbad (1955) (uncredited); Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) (uncredited); City Beneath the Sea (1953); Androcles and the Lion (1952); Caribbean (1952); African Treasure (1952); and The Lion Hunters (1951)